Chapter Three: Breaking the
Mystery
Michael tossed his bags into his
fridge and ran back out the door. He
caught the subway downtown then walked several blocks to a small coffee
shop. He went in but the person he was
meeting wasn’t here yet. He looked at
his watch and saw that he was almost twenty minutes early. He ordered a hot chocolate and sat at a round
table by the front window, so his friend wouldn’t miss him. His watched the people walk by, mostly in a
hurry to be somewhere, such is New York City, but he didn’t really see
anyone. He was caught in a whirlwind of
emotion and panic.
“We’ll take it slow,” he had
said. Take what slow? And he never
agreed to anything with him. But he
remembered his warmth and it was better than any hot chocolate. He laid his head in his hands and held in an
exasperated sound. He heard the small
bell on the door and then felt a cold hand on the back of his neck. He sat up quickly and heard Ellie laugh.
“If you wore your hair down, I
wouldn’t have such easy access to your bare skin.” She laughed as she sat her bag down in the
chair opposite him.
“If I wore it down I’d attract far
too much attention. You know the girls
love the long hair.”
“Haha that is true,” she said,
digging out her wallet, “I’m going to order a latte then we’re going to
talk.” She gave him a serious look
before she walked up to the counter. He
took a deep breath then a drink of his cocoa.
This was a bad idea, he
thought.
She was back before he had time to
run away and said, “So, tell me everything.”
He hesitated, hiding behind his drink.
“Come on,” she said, tapping his arm, “Let’s hear it.”
“Okay,” he took a deep breath and
sat down his cup. “Please let me get
through all of it before you say or ask anything.”
“Okay, deal.”
He started slow, a little embarrassed
about what had transpired but when he started going, a flood happened, he was
almost tripping over himself trying to tell the story. He spilled all of what had occured, including
all the touches and emotions. He was out
of breath by the time the story was over.
“I don’t even know this man, but I feel like he’s part of me, how can
that even be possible?” He was flush and
excited.
“Wow,” she said and paused for a
second, thinking. “Firstly, you did like
it, didn’t you?”
“I suppose so,” he said, blushing.
“Alright, secondly, it seems to me
that Lukas also enjoyed it, he practically sought you out, or at the least he
didn’t ignore you when he saw you. So,
that’s a good sign.”
“Sign of what?” Michael asked.
“Sign of what?” Michael asked.
“That he is feeling the same way you
are. At least he’s not doing this to
bully you or make you uncomfortable.”
“I never even thought of that,” Michael said.
“I never even thought of that,” Michael said.
“Well, good, now keep it out of your
mind. I think the first thing we need to
do is learn a little more about him.
We’ll filter through your emotions as we go, but what are you feeling
now?”
“I feel great and very confused at the same time,” he answered. “If he were a girl I’d be delighted but he’s obviously not and that’s where I’m stuck.”
“I feel great and very confused at the same time,” he answered. “If he were a girl I’d be delighted but he’s obviously not and that’s where I’m stuck.”
“I think that if it were a girl you
could just ask her about herself. Have
you thought about that?” she asked him. “He
did say he wanted to know you and gave you his number,” she pointed out.
“I don’t think I like men in the
same way I like women. I’d have a whole
different plan if it was a woman and I…”
“Were trying to score?” she said,
finishing his sentence.
“Yeah.” He said weakly.
“I think this is a good thing, it
has you so cunfuzzled that you are actually taking time to analyze and
understand. And I think that will make
the relationship, whatever it ends up as, stronger.” She smiled and pulled out her phone. “But!
First things first, let me call my friend, he’s in criminology and he
may have a way to help us get some background information.” She dialed a number and waited.
“Hey! Justin!” pause, “I’m doing
great and you?” pause, “awesome!” pause, “Hey, I have a favor to ask.” Pause,
“Oh haha, I’m not that needy! But
really, its important.” Pause, “I need you to look up someone for me all I have
is his first name but I’ll text you his last in a few. He’s a play-write, so it shouldn’t be too
hard to find him. Its Lukas and I’ll
text you the spelling as well.” Pause
“Alright! I owe you one, thanks!” she
hung up smiling.
“So… who’s Justin?” Michael said,
jokingly.
“An old friend,” she said, with fake
offence. “I’ve known him since we were
toddlers, our mothers were best friends so we spent a lot of time together as
kids.”
“mhmmm.” He said with a smile.
“Hey, right now we are worried about
your love life not mine!” she laughed.
They finished up their drinks, “We are first going to the library, if
he’s as good a writer as you say, they will have printed copies of his
work.” They gathered their stuff and
left the coffee shop. There was a
library only a few blocks from where they were.
It took them very little time to find one of his first works.
“Oh look here!” Ellie said with
excitement. After that they found
several more and took to one of the tables to read. Ellie texted her friend with is name: Lukas Sanders. She assumed that even if that was a pen name,
Justin could use it to get them some information. They each took half the plays and sat in
silence while they read.
After a few hours of reading,
Michael broke the silence, “What do we hope to learn from reading these?”
Ellie looked at him in disbelief,
“You should know the answer to that, being a writer yourself.”
“You assume way too much about
Lukas, just because most authors put part of themselves, even a character
shaped like themselves, does not mean that Lukas does the same.”
“No, even if he does not intend to do so, he does. I’ve noticed a pattern in all of these stories.”
“No, even if he does not intend to do so, he does. I’ve noticed a pattern in all of these stories.”
“Yeah?” he asked, surprised, clearly
having missed it.
“Yes. In every one there is always a pair, even if
they are a background set of characters, that end up happily in love. They always fit each other perfectly and fill
in each other’s faults. It shows that he
either had that or is searching for that.
Maybe he has found that in you but doesn’t realize it.”
“Hm… Now that you mention it, in all
of the ones I read had a couple that fit the same description. But that is just a sign of a well-rounded,
talented author. No matter the content
he always fills every niche in each play.” Michael said. “And I don’t believe we have spent enough
time together for him to have found me his matching pair.”
“I’ve never read another writer that
has every ‘niche,’ as you say, filled in every work, even you, with your
amazing talent, leave some out sometimes.”
“Are you saying that what he writes
is what he wants? He wants a fulfilled
life, like each of his works are complete and his life isn’t?”
“Exactly!” Ellie said.
“When did you become a
psychologist?” Michael asked, surprised by her insight.
She laughed, “I took some psychology
classes during my undergraduate time. I
loved it almost as much as I do bio, so I got a minor in it.”
“Oh wow, you really are smart,
aren’t you?” Michael asked, complimenting her.
“I try very hard.” She joked.
“Well, it shows.” They gathered up the plays, “What next?”
“We’re going to look up show times!”
she said, clearly having a lot of fun play detective. “Call Yuuki, We’ll make it a date!”
“Yuuki will never let me live it
down if I ask him to come to a play with me.” He said as they left the library.
“That’s why I said, we’ll make it a
date. He and Sarah have been hanging out
a lot lately, I think we should encourage them.” She said with a smile.
“Oh really? He did tell me he had plans this week but
didn’t tell me what they were, that little snake.”
She pulled out her phone and looked up show
times. “Oh! Look at that! There is a showing at seven tomorrow, with
several tickets still available. I can
stop by the theatre and get the tickets on my way home.”
“Alright, I’ll call Yuuki.” He pulled out his phone
and called. “Hey, what’s up man?”
“Nothing much, eating some grub, you?” Yuuki said,
his voiced mumbled.
“Nothing much here, just hanging out with Ellie,”
“Oooooohhh, Ellie, huh?”
“Yeah yeah, get it out of your system.”
“I have a good eye, don’t I?”
“You know it was nothing but luck. You saw someone you liked and you needed her
friend out of the way,” Michael said, winking at Ellie.
“Oh, that makes me sound cold!”
“Anyway, are you and Sarah free tomorrow after
sixish?”
“Sarah and I?”
“Yes, I know, don’t play dumb, Ellie told me you’ve
been hanging out.” Michael said.
“Oh! I was going to tell you, but I didn’t want to
distract you from your work. Apparently,
I was mistaken in thinking you were working.”
Yuuki said, laughing.
“Hey now, I have been working. But back to the point, can you guys come
tomorrow?”
“I’ll have to ask Sarah, but I’m up for it.
“Okay, Ellie is going to stop by and get the tickets
tonight so let me know.”
“I’ll call her right now and send you a text.”
“Alright, sounds good, I’ll talk to you later.”
“See ya!”
Michael hung up and told Ellie that they were
in. “Great! Come to my place before the show and we’ll do
some more digging, maybe find his facebook or other stuff. I’m sure there’s an interview or two out
there with him. And by then my friend
may have some juicy details to share with us.”
“Okay, I’ll be there by two?” Michael agreed. They rode the subway together until he got
off, she had a little further to go.
“I’ll see you tomorrow and thanks a lot, Ellie.”
“You’re welcome,” she said smiling and waving as he
got off the train.
He went home for the evening and turned in
early. He couldn’t sleep but he felt a
lot better after talking to Ellie. He
was even excited for the play tomorrow.
He couldn’t remember when he had had this much excitement in his
life. He tossed and turned and just gave
up and stared at the dark ceiling. What
was he going to learn about Lukas and why was he even taking it this far? Did he actually intend to meet up with him
again and did he plan on forming some sort of relationship? He didn’t know the answers to those questions
and he was up a lot time mulling them over.
His alarm rang at ten. He didn’t even remember falling asleep but
when he tried to go back to sleep his stomach protested so he got up. He made his way to the kitchen and fried up
some eggs and loaded them with ham and cheese.
He sat down on his couch and turned on the TV. As he ate he watched the news. Nothing good was happening and it seemed the
snow was going to increase today. He
watched the rest of the news and the program that came on after it. Talk shows were not his favorite but he did
get a kick out of some of the hosts and it lightened his day a little after the
regular news.
He got in the shower at about half past noon. He enjoyed heat of the water and the shampoo
in his hair. He stood under the shower
head for several minutes. “Today is
going to be a good day,” he said to himself as he got out and for once he
believed it. He brushed his hair and got
dressed, he picked out something he thought was a nice outfit, rather than his
normal jeans and t-shirt. He wore his
newest pair of jeans and pulled on a black polo shirt. He stood before the mirror tussling his
hair. He normally wore it up because it
was to his shoulders and he didn’t really know what to do with it
otherwise. He looked through his stuff
and found an old bottle of serum a girl had left a while ago. He ran it through his hair, which was soft
already and it left it shiny and calm.
He decided to wear it down and as soon as he did he heard Ellie’s voice
making a smart comment, “working on a look to impress Luka? Woohoo!” He palmed his forehead and made sure he
grabbed a hair tie just in case.
He slid on a pair of boots and his winter coat and
headed out towards the subway. “I wonder
if she needs me to bring anything.” He
thought out loud and got out his phone, sending her a text. She responded quickly telling him to just
bring himself. He made his way to where
Yuuki’s house was then to the club they had visited. He remembered that her apartment was only a
few blocks from Denny’s but, he couldn’t remember which one.
He called her. “Hello?” she answered.
“I think I’m on the correct block, but I can’t
remember which building it is.”
“Okay, give me a second.” He heard rustling then the
sliding of what he thought was a door, then, “Hey!” he heard her voice coming from the phone and
from somewhere above him. He looked up
and saw her standing on the balcony of the fourth floor. “Look at that, you did have the right
building!” she said and then into the phone
said, “I’ll buzz you in.” She left the
balcony and shut the door. He walked up
to the main entrance and heard a weak buzz come from the box next to it and he
pulled it open. He walked the stairs to
the fourth floor and saw her standing in her door way when he came out into the
hallway. “Welcome back,” she said as he
made his way to her. She let him in and
he was hit with the smell of baked apples.
“What smells so good?” he asked.
“I’m attempting to make apple crisps,” she
said. “Attempt being the key word. When they are done, you’re welcome to try one
and tell me how it tastes, honesty is required.”
“Okay.” He said with a smile. He took off his coat and boots and took a
step into the living room.
“Woah!” she said, stopping him, “What’s going on
here? You’re looking dasher today. Who are you trying to impress?”
“I knew this was a mistake,” he said, running his
fingers through his hair, embarrassed.
“Oh no, it wasn’t,” she said, taking him in. “If we weren’t on a mission to find
information on a guy, for you, I’d have to reconsider out relationship.” She winked at him and lightly slapped him on
the butt. “Come on, handsome, I have
some stuff to show you.” She had her
tablet connected to the television so when she swiped it, an image came on the
screen. It was of a blue tick coon hound
being playful on her fluffy bed. She
caught him looking at it and said, “That’s the love of my life, Sasha, I have
to leave her with my parents when I’m at school.”
She sounded a little sad, so he asked, “How often do
you get to see her?”
“Just about every weekend and I bring her here when
I’m on break, but it’s not the same.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, sincerely.
“It’s alright,” she responded. “But now, down to business.” She sat on the
couch with her tablet in her hand and he joined her. “My friend really came through, and in such a
short time, but I’ll go over what I found first.” She brought up the web browser that had
several tabs open. The first was a
listing of all his plays that had been performed on any stage. “As we already know, he’s a very accomplished
writer, but I was looking for interviews,” she scrolled down and clicked on a
link that said “Author Bio.” “He doesn’t
say much about anything, really. He goes
on about the play and how glad he is for its success and hopes that any one
that can will come see it. But he avoids
or flat-out refuses to answer any personal questions. He says that it should be all about his work
and it should stand on its own and his personal life was just that personal.”
“I heard that he was a private man, but I didn’t
expect him to say nothing.” Michael was filtering through the rumors that he
had heard about Lukas but nothing seemed substantial, all just hear-say and
shallow.
“Neither did I, everyone says something by accident,
but I literally found nothing. So, I
moved on.” She clicked on the next
tab. “But alas, he has no social media
accounts anywhere,” she shook her head sadly, “his poor poor fans.” Michael had a feeling that they wouldn’t find
anything like that if he didn’t even comment anything personal, he was trying
to keep his life a secret for some reason.
“So that was the end of my search, not that I didn’t try my best, and I
have mad skills when it comes to internet stalking people.” She laughed when he looked at her in
surprise. “Oh don’t worry, you’re next,
as soon as the mystery that is Lukas is solved, I’m going to find what you are
hiding.” She rubbed her hands together
in an evil gesture.
“Or you could, you know, just ask me?” he said,
motioning with his hand in a way that made the option seem obvious.
“I could, but what fun is that?” she laughed again
before clicking onto the next tab.
“I thought you said he didn’t have a facebook? What is this?” Michael was taking in what was
clearly a home page of some one’s facebook.
“Ah, yes, Lukas doesn’t, but his brother does.”
“His brother?” Michael asked.
“Yes,” she pulled up a document on her tablet with a
complete outline about Lukas. “He grew
up in central Pennsylvania, in a small city named Altoona. His parents are Margaret and James Rhodes. He has two siblings, of which he is the
youngest. He has an older brother,
Edward, and an older sister, Ivy. They
are each one quarter Native American on their mother’s side, which explains the
complexion. He graduated from Altoona
Area High school and then joined the marines.
He served three tours over-seas before he was medically and honorably
discharged with metals of honor in 2011.
Unfortunately, the reason for his discharge is sealed and not viewable
to the public. He did not return to his
home in Pennsylvania but instead moved to New York City after the discharge. His first published work came in early 2012
and he’s been a success since then. My
friend didn’t find anything about him having a wife or children or even where
he lives. All he found after 2012 was
who his editor and publicist is.”
“Wow, even with all the information, I still feel
like I know nothing about him.” Michael
sat back on the couch.
“There is very little to go on, his siblings only
mention him on holidays, as far as I can tell, and he doesn’t return home for
those events. They miss him and love him
is all they say.” She put her tablet on
the coffee table and sat back too. “I’m
afraid you’ll just have to talk to him and get to know him the old fashion way.”
“That’s easier said than done,” Michael sighed.
“Why? Because you two can’t seem to keep your hands
off each other long enough to talk?”
“No! I—“
“Maybe you should just do the dirty then have a nice
long pillow conversation.”
“EL!” he
said, flushing.
She was laughing so hard she could barely breath,
“You’re face… haha…. So red!”
“That’s not funny!” he said, covering his face.
“Oh yes, it is.” A timer went off in the kitchen and
she went to rescue her crisps from the oven.
“Oh, just right!” he heard her exclaim from the kitchen.
“Mind if I use your tablet?” he called out to her.
“Nope, go ahead, just don’t be looking at porn!”
“Ellie! Jesus, I think you’re the one that needs
laid,” he picked up her tablet and
clicked on Lukas’s brothers page.
“You don’t say?!” she said sarcastically, and he
remembered how they met and he started blushing again. He scrolled down through the feed and found
that Ellie was right, Lukas was tagged only on special occasions and none of
those contained a picture of him. He looked
through his photos and found only a few pictures with Lukas. His brother stood next to and taller than him
in them, he was a lot younger than he was now, maybe from high school? His brother had the same dark skin, but had
dark hair and almost black eyes, where Lukas had copper brown hair and milk
chocolate eyes. He looked happy in those
photos.
“Why are you hurting now?” he asked the
picture. “What happened?” He was tempted to send his brother a message
asking him about Lukas but decided it would be better if he just asked him
himself. He might find that a betrayal
going to his family.
“Hey, I asked Sarah and Yuuki to join us for some
dinner before the show, I hope that’s okay?”
Ellie said as she came back out of the kitchen.
“Hm?” Michael responded, still looking at Lukas and
Edward’s picture. “Oh. Yeah, that’s good. What time?”
“Four, so we have time to get across town.” She looked down at the tablet, “he was so
adorable and happy.”
“Yeah, he does look that way. He’s not like this now.”
“What happened?” she echoed his own question.
“That’s what I’d like to know.” He sat the tablet back on the table.
“Are you okay?” she asked, feeling his sorrow.
“Yes, I’m fine, just lost in thought,” he looked up
at her and smiled.
“You don’t have to pretend with me,” she said,
placing a hand on his folded knee.
“I know,” he said, hesitating, “It’s just hard to
open up to people.”
“I understand.
Maybe someday you’ll explain yourself.” She said with a smile. “Ah!” she said as a phone started ringing.
Michael reached into his pocket and pulled out his
phone. “Hello?” he answered, “oh hold
on,” he pulled the phone away from his ear and pushed the “Speaker” button. “Okay,”
“Hello! Ellie!” Yuuki’s voice came from the speaker,
which was quickly followed by a hello from Sarah.
“Hey guys! What’s up?” Ellie answered.
“We’re heading to the restaurant and were just
calling to see if you want us to swing by and pick you guys up since your place
is on the way.” Sarah said.
“Oh! Is it that time already?” Ellie looked at the
clock on the wall. “Yeah, sure, come on
up, I’ll be ready shortly.” She hopped
off the couch and headed towards the hallway before the even answered.
“Okay, we’ll be there in about five,” Sarah said,
“See you then!”
“Okay, bye,” Michael said and hung up. Ellie re-emerged from the hallway just after
the asked to be let in. She made it to
the door just before they knocked. She
had changed from jeans and a t-shirt to a sleeveless red dress with a slightly
puffy shirt and a sheer shall. She
slipped on black ankle-high boots, good for walking in snow.
When Michael gave her a look of surprise she said,
“What? I’d rather only match a little and not fall on my face, thanks!” She opened the door and Sarah and Yuuki came
in, both dressed nicely, but not overly done.
“You guys look great!” Ellie said and hugged them both.
Michael stood and greeted them too and then started
putting on his own boots and coat. “You
guys ready?” asked Yuuki.
“Just have to put on my coat,” Ellie said, as she
did just that. They left the apartment
and made it to the restaurant just in time for their reservation. They ate and talked, and even though Yuuki
kept giving Michael the eye, knowing something wasn’t as it seemed, he never
asked about it.
“Oh! Michael, my editor called, he wants to meet
tomorrow about my story board,” Yuuki said.
“Oh? That’s good,
right? It didn’t take him long.” Michael
answered.
“I hope so, usually when I throw him a curve ball,
he calls and talks to me over the phone about it, and takes him at least a week
to make all the edits he wants.” Yuuki
said, a little nervious.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, you have never given him
anything that he hasn’t like before and I think you’re adding just enough
spice.” Michael tried to comfort him but
he knew how he was feeling as he himself was waiting for a response from his
editor.
“Yeah, you’re probably right, I am a genius,” he
said with a laugh.
“Speaking of which, do you mind if I tag along with
you? I’m going to nudge my editor a
little, but what an excuse to be there.
I don’t want him to think I’m impatient,” Michael asked.
“Sure, but you know he’s going to see right through
you.” Yuuki laughed again and Michael
joined him. The real reason he wanted to
go with Yuuki is that he wanted to see Lukas, and Yuuki was always saying that
every time he’s there so is Lukas. He
had no idea what he planned to do, but he had asked before he thought.
Sarah and Yuuki started off on their own
conversation so Ellie leaned over and nudged Michael. “What?”
he said, but she gave him a look of exasperation so he said, “Lukas is
always there when Yuuki is.” She made an
“oh” face. “I don’t know what I’m going
to do or say but I want to see him.” She
smiled at him. “I’m glad you’re getting
entertainment out of this,” he said back at her which only made her smile
widen.
“Why not give him a message? Make an actual effort to spend time with
him?” she said.
“You mean ask him on a date?” Michael said.
“Not necessarily,” she answered.
“And I have his number, I could just send him a
text.” She gave him a disapproving look.
“Right, that’s not personal at all.
What am I to do, hand him a note?”
“Why not?” she asked, “Write him a letter specifying
what you want.”
He sighed, it wasn’t a bad idea, but now he was
going to be up all night trying to figure out what to say.
“What are you two whispering about?” Yuuki jumped
in.
“You’re butt!” Ellie said and Michael
facepalmed. She and Sarah laughed.
They finished dinner and made it to the show
early. They talked about what they were
expecting and when the show started they were all proven wrong. It was much better than they expected, the
girls were in tears and the men were trying to not join them.
“What a beautiful show,” Ellie said. “I think I’m going to go to all his shows,”
she wiped a tear from her eye as the left the theatre.
They went their separate ways after walking together
to Ellie’s house. Michael was lost in
thought all the way home. What was he
going to say to Lukas and how could he convince himself that this was okay? What if Lukas was just messing with him or he
somehow read the signs wrong? And what
if he wasn’t interested in him that way, he didn’t want to hurt the guy?
He sat down at his desk and fiddled with his pen for
almost half an hour before even starting the letter. He was nervous when he started writing so he
had to start over several times so his writing was legible. Then finally:
Lukas,
I’m not sure what is happening between us and I
don’t know if you do either. I can’t lie
and say I’m not intrigued but I’ll also not lie about saying I’m on very uneven
ground here. I don’t considered myself
to be closed-minded and I am willing to give whatever this is a chance. I know a little about you, but I’d like to
know more. You are such a mystery to me
that I can’t stop thinking about you.
You also said you wanted to know more about me and promised that we
would take it slow. As long as you keep
your promise, I’m going to reach a hand out to you, so please don’t burn it.
If you weren’t lying and you are sincere meet me for
dinner at Louise Tov’s at eight p.m. Thursday night. If you can’t or no longer want to proceed, I
understand, and I’ll leave it at that, as if nothing happened. Here is my phone number, in case you can’t
make it: (917) XXX-XXXX.
Michael.
He went to bed shortly after one a.m., but he
couldn’t sleep, he just tossed around nervously before he got up and went to
his living room. He watched
documentaries for a couple hours, then he finally fell asleep on the couch.
He was awoken by the sound of his doorbell. He moaned and grabbed his phone, seeing it
was dead, he looked up at the clock and saw that it was past nine a.m. “Oh crap!” he said and jumped up hitting the
buzzer and unlock the door to let Yuuki in, and rushed to the bathroom, he
brushed his teeth and his hair at the same time then rushed to his room as he
heard Yuuki come it. He threw on a pair
of jeans, and his usual graphic tee and overshirt. He hopped out of his room, trying to put on
socks.
“I’m so sorry, man, I over slept.” He said.
“I can see that,” Yuuki said, not in the least bit
upset. Michael got his socks on and
threw on a coat. He had placed the
envelope with the letter to Lukas in his pocket so he didn’t forget it or Yuuki
saw it. They went out the door only
minutes after Yuuki had arrived and were on their way to the office to see his
editor.
“I’m glad you live so close to the office,” Yuuki
said and they hurried down the street.
“Me too,” Michael said. They got there in just a few minutes and
Yuuki hurried away down the hall. “Good
luck!” Michael shouted after him.
Michael made his way to the elevator.
He was actually going to go see Tori, since he was here. And he didn’t want to just stand around
waiting to see if Lukas would show, plus him moving kept his nerves in
check. Even though his chest was already
tight, he tried not to focus on it. He
got off on the fifth floor and saw that Tori’s office door was closed. He must be in a meeting. He waited outside for almost an hour when he
got a text from Yuuki saying that he was done.
He went back to the elevator and waited for it to come down from higher
in the building. When the doors opened
he couldn’t believe his eyes. Inside the
elevator stood just one person, Lukas.
Lukas didn’t seem to notice him at first, he was looking down at the
floor and seemed deep in thought.
Michael stepped on and hit the “Door Close” button. When the doors closed, Lukas finally looked
up and Michael was staring at him. He
looked taken aback, even embarrassed for a second.
“What are the odds?” Michael said, trying to break
the ice.
“Indeed,” Lukas responded, “it seems that you have
no interest in being near me, what a cruel world this must be for you.”
“No interest--? No nevermind.” Michael said, If only you knew what you are putting me
through. “I have something for
you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled
out the envelope. He held it out in
front of Lukas with a shaking hand. “Please
take it.” Lukas looked at the paper and
slowly raised his hand to take it, but instead of just grabbing the envelope he
grasped Michael’s hand.
“You’re shaking.” He said, “I’m sorry if I’m the
cause. I don’t take rejection well and
this is a delicate matter.”
“It is,” Michael said, not pulling away. “Do you mind, if I … touch you?” What?! Lukas looked surprised but nodded. Michael pulled his hand away from Lukas’s and
reached up, touching his cheek with just two fingers. Then, as if he was shocked, he pulled them
back but only for a second. He stepped
closer to him and put his full hand on his cheek then his other hand on the
other cheek. Before he could stop he
leaned in and put his forehead against Lukas’s.
He closed his eyes and took in Lukas’s heat. Then he leaned in and just laid his lips on
his, just a timid kiss. The whole time
Lukas just stood still, allowing Michael to take his time and even now, he only
lifted a hand and laid it on one of his elbows, trying to reassure him. But before he could build up the courage, the
elevator stopped and the door dinged opened.
He quickly stepped away from Lukas and off the elevator, leaving Lukas
standing here, flush and surprised.
Lukas watched Michael run out the door. He met his friend and they were soon out of
his sight. He walked the other direction
of them to a café a few blocks away. He
sat and tried to warm up and draw himself out of the haze his was in with a
coffee. Once he felt his nerves settle
he reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope Michael had given
him. He read it slowly and as he reached
the end he felt a joy rise in him that he had never felt. He reread the note several times. And again when he got home later that
evening. He pulled out his phone and typed
a simple message:
Yes, I’ll be there.
Michael read the message and immediately sent one of
his own.
You have to help me shop! >.<;;;;
At which Ellie replied:
You’re lucky I’m on break. Meet me at the mall at noon. J